


Nothing Brings Old Friends Together Like Murder

by rustyliver



Series: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun [1]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, F/F, Murder, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-26 03:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2635985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rustyliver/pseuds/rustyliver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One particular book caught her eye; it was a book on personality disorders. It was a thick book with long words that an eleven year old can barely understand, but Sameen had understood enough to know that both her and Sam were in it, just on different parts of the spectrum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Brings Old Friends Together Like Murder

**Author's Note:**

> In case you haven't noticed yet, this story contains violence and other possibly triggering things.

The first time Sameen cut through flesh was when she was nine. Her mom brought home a slab of meat. It was from a cow, she told Sameen.

"Like the one at the petting zoo?" Sameen had asked.

The question had stunned her mom for a brief moment, but she eventually nodded.

"But this cow was grown to feed us. We don't eat cows from petting zoos."

That day she learned that you can kill if you have a good enough reason.

So later that week, when Sam dragged Sameen to the treehouse that Sam's dad built for them and showed Sameen a bird in a box that was so sick that she thought it would be better off dead, Sameen did not hesitate to pinch its neck until its little broken wings stopped flapping.

Sam had this smile on her as Sameen choked the life out of the bird, and Sam's smile grew wider as she squeezed harder. Sameen hadn't felt anything, so she thought that was the appropriate response to a well reasoned death.

But two days later, Sam didn't show up at school.

When school was over, Sameen went straight to Sam's house to check on her. She had greeted Sameen with a smile as she usually does, but it didn't hide her puffy eyes.

Sameen asked what had happened to her, and Sam told her that she had been having nightmares about the bird.

"But you liked it," Sameen said.

"I did," Sam said, "but when I close my eyes, I hear it scream. I think it's called remorse. Don't you feel it too?"

"I don't feel anything."

A few days later, Sam got out of bed and she went on with her life like nothing happened.

But something did happen. Sameen killed a bird, and even though it didn't feel like a big deal to Sameen, Sam clearly felt differently because she started to scale down on her time with Sameen.

And during that time she had free of Sameen, she found a new friend.

 _Hanna_.

Hanna was the opposite of Sameen. She was friendly, kind, and generous with her smile. There is not one person Sameen knew who didn't adore her.

After befriending Hanna, Sam spent even less time with Sameen in their treehouse and devoted all of that time with Hanna in the library, until after awhile, Sam stopped speaking to Sameen altogether.

Then Hanna went missing, and it didn't change a thing.

It's like they never knew each other.

Until tonight, that is.

...

Sameen was sweating out the end of summer, cursing the AC repairman for giving a too broad window for his arrival and her mother, who despite her promise to wait all day for the repairman, went out anyway to pick up some missing ingredients for the dinner that she had planned.

If only Sameen didn't decide to go out for a run, then she won't be changing out of her third sticky tank top for the day. The tank top was halfway off when her mother called from downstairs,

"Sameen! Sam is here!"

She had two seconds to decide between taking off her tanktop completely and putting on a new one, or leave this one on before her mother started to talk Sam's ear off about 'how she never comes by anymore'.

Sameen decided on the latter. It's Sam, so it must be a quick visit. The last time they talked was in like seventh grade--so, five years. It has been five years since Sam last spoke to her. She can't remember what it was that she had asked Sam, but she still remembered the answer; a short "'kay" before ignoring Sameen completely to continue an insipid conversation she was having with her new friends about boys.

Sameen rushed down the stairs to catch her mom before she could invite Sam for dinner.

"Ma!" she cried out as she neared the front door.

But she was too late.

"I'd love to, Mrs Shaw," Sam was saying as Sameen finally reached the threshold.

"What did you just agree to?" Sameen asked.

Sam opened her mouth, eyebrow raising, but no words came out.

"Sam's parents are out of town, so I invited her to join us for dinner," Mrs Shaw helpfully answered for her as her eyes scanned Sameen from head to toe. "And she just agreed."

"No, ma," Sameen said, crossing her arms above her chest as she realized--no, that's not the right word because she knew this when she decided not to change three seconds ago, but the way Sam was staring at her made her become even more aware of it--how much her shirt was clinging on to her body. "She was just being polite. You were being polite, right?" Sameen addressed the suddenly mute Sam. "Sam?"

Sam shook her head, like she was stirring from a trance, and also to say, "No, I wasn't," her smile deceptively sincere. "Are you making your salad, Mrs Shaw? Because I've really missed your salad."

"See?" Mrs Shaw said. "She _wants_ to have dinner with us. What's wrong with you?"

Sameen shrugged. "Fine," she said. "So what else do you want besides my mom's salad?"

Her mom sighed. "Do you treat all your friends this way?"

"Just me," Sam replied. Mrs Shaw's eyes widened in horror, her head promptly turning toward her daughter, but before she could chastise Sameen for it, Sam hurriedly added, "but only because we're such good friends." She turned to Sameen, her lips twisting into a smirk. "Right, Sameen?"

"Right," Sameen said, just so she could get this conversation to end quicker.

"But I need to borrow Sameen for a bit," Sam said to Mrs Shaw. "It won't be long. We'll be back before dinner."

"Of course," Mrs Shaw said, her hand pushing Sameen out the door. Before Sameen knew it, the door was already closed behind her, and Sam was staring at her expectantly.

"What do you want?" Sameen asked again, not bothering to mask her annoyance.

"I need you, Sameen."

...

Four words.

"I need you, Sameen."

Those four words were enough to get Sameen to follow Sam to her house and into her basement. If she was being honest with herself, Sameen already knew what she was going to find in there.

It was only a matter of time.

After Sam had stopped speaking to her, Sameen had all this time to herself. At first she spent it by following Sam around without her knowing, and much of that included Sameen going to the library to watch Sam watching Hanna playing some game on the library computer. But after awhile, Sameen got bored of lurking behind shelves and so, she started looking at the books on the shelves.

One particular book caught her eye; it was a book on personality disorders. It was a thick book with long words that an eleven year old can barely understand, but Sameen had understood enough to know that both her and Sam were in it, just on different parts of the spectrum.

So when they got to bottom of the stairs, it didn't surprise Sameen to find the room covered with plastic sheets. Sam handed her a raincoat, one those portable ones that could fit into your pocket if you fold it the right way, and put one on herself. In the middle of the room, there was Mr Groves' pool table, also covered in plastic like the rest of the room, except it had a man on it, with his limbs stretched out to each corner of the table, held in place by ropes that were elaborately tied to the legs of the table.

Noticing Sam's presence, the man immediately started shaking. He spoke but his words were muffled by the cloth stuffed into his mouth, held in place by a piece duct tape that was wrapped several times around his head.

"Who is he?" Sameen asked, putting on the raincoat.

The man's eyes widened, and his voice turned up in volume as he realized that there was another person in the basement. Sameen walked over toward the table and vaguely heard 'please' in between the muffles.

Sam joined Sameen by the table and looked down to the man. "Aww, I think he's trying to ask you for help," she said. "Did you help Hanna?"

There was a tray set on a smaller table a few feet above the man's head. Sam went to it to retrieve a pair of latex gloves and put them on. Then she retrieved another pair of gloves and a knife before returning to Sameen's side, and gave the gloves to Sameen.

"You might want to stand back a little," Sam said as Sameen put on the gloves. "He might splatter on you."

"That's what the raincoat is for, isn't it?"

Sam's lips curled up in the same way it did nine years ago. "I asked you a question," she said to the man, and plunged the knife into his flesh, "Did you help Hanna when she begged you for her life?" making the 'O' that she had carved previously on the man's abdomen into a hole. "Did you?"

The man shook his head, gurgling something that sounded like 'sorry', his tears mixed with blood trickling from the wound on his head.

"You don't want to do that," Sameen said, reaching for Sam's hand. She slowly lead the knife out of the man, ignoring the man's scream. "I think I know why I'm here."

"I tried, you know," Sam told her. "With cats and squirrels and birds. Most of them are already dying but even then, I can't--you can kinda feel them go, you know?"

Sameen shook her head. "No, I don't."

"He deserves it," Sam said. "He killed my friend."

"It's okay. I'll do it," Sameen said, holding down the man's neck.

The man wailed harder. "Please, no," Sameen heard him say. There was no mistake.

There were other books she read in the library. There was one in particular that taught her instant death by severing all the required arteries in the neck with one swift motion.

And as she did it, her eyes never left Sam. She didn't want to miss the glee that she knew would take over Sam as she watched the man who killed her friend take his last breath.

...

"Shit, dinner!" Sameen cried out. "Are we late?"

Sam looked up from their handiwork, her eyes still glittering with joy. She took off her gloves and reached into her coat to retrieve her watch.

"We have half an hour."

"We have to go," Sameen said, taking her gloves off too, then her coat.

"Wait," Sam said, walking toward her. "You got some blood on your hair. And some on your clothes."

"I must've buttoned my coat wrong."

"Take them off."

"My clothes?"

"All of them. You need to wash up and the blood might track on my floor."

"But…"

"Come on, Sameen. It's not like I've never seen you naked."

Except they were five then. Now they're eighteen, and there have been some changes.

"I'll loan you my clothes," Sam said, as if that was Sameen's main worry. "Do you want to be late?" she added when Sameen didn't comply.

"Fine," Sameen said, taking her top off. But as she lowered her pants, she noticed a spot of blood on Sam's shirt. "You have some on you too."

Sam looked down, lifting her shirt slightly where Sameen was pointing. "Oh, you're right," she said, lifting her shirt up further. Sameen's eyes widened. "Fair is fair," she muttered as she slid the shirt off her head.

When Sam was done, they went upstairs to the guest bathroom. Sameen stopped at the door as Sam went straight into the shower. "What are you doing there?" Sam asked upon realizing that Sameen had stayed behind.

"You could go first. I don't mind waiting," Sameen replied.

"There's enough space for two here," Sam said. "Besides, if we take turns, we'll be late. Your mom will throw a fit. You know how she gets about dinner."

"Are you sure?" Sameen asked.

"Of course, silly!" Sam said, waving her over. "It's not the first time we've done this."

Again, five.

Sameen looked down at her body. There was barely any blood on it and she could wipe them off easily, and she can wash her hair in the sink. "We won't be late," she told Sam.

"Suit yourself," Sam said, pulling the shower curtain close. A few seconds later, her underwear flew from over the railing onto the bathroom floor. Sameen immediately averted her eyes toward the sink.

Steam from the shower filled up the room. A hot shower would be so nice right now, she thought. The blood could be wiped off her skin but she can't wipe off the stickiness that she was feeling.

Fuck it. She took off her bra and panties and pulled the shower curtain open slightly with her eyes closed.

"Can I, uh, come in?" she asked.

Sam didn't answer. She just took Sameen's hand and lead her into the shower.

"You can open your eyes now."

...

They ended up being late to dinner, but Sam managed to charm Mrs Shaw into forgetting all about it. She always had a way with words--always knew what to say. When Mrs Shaw squinted at Sameen's change of outfit, Sam easily explained it away,

"Clumsy Sameen got paint on her clothes."

How exactly did Sameen get paint on her clothes didn't matter. That mere sentence propelled Mrs Shaw right into storytelling mode. Not long after, she was exchanging stories with Sam like old friends catching up.

Sam was laughing, but her smile was all wrong. It was so different than the one that Sameen saw on her a few hours ago. This smile was hollow somehow--forcefully stretching the corners of her mouth.

It only seemed to loosen up when her eyes landed on Sameen, and they would glint, like she was remembering a fond memory. Sameen thought about that fond memory and wondered if it would turn into a nightmare when Sam falls asleep.

At the end of the night, Mrs Shaw issued another invitation to Sam.

"Why don't you spend the night here?"

Sam graciously declined. "I have something to care of," she said, winking at Sameen.

"Let me help you," Sameen said after her mother had finally let Sam go and retreated to her bedroom.

"It's my mess," Sam said. "I can't make you do all the clean up."

"Okay," Sameen said. "But when you're done, if you can't sleep, you can…"

"I still remember where your window is."

The next morning, the librarian found her husband's mutilated corpse on her patio with the words 'Look under my patio' carved into his chest. When the police found Hanna, the whole town went into a frenzy. They didn't know whether to celebrate or to grieve. A six year mystery was finally solved and the perpetrator got what he deserved.

Sameen suspected that the police felt the same way too. In the coming months, the investigation into the murder of Trent Russell progressed very little, and his widow was too distraught and horrified by her husband's crime that she didn't bother to press the police to do their job.

Sam never came back. Sameen went to the Groves when they returned from their trip to ask about her. They told her that Sam had left for college. They wanted to send her off but at the last minute, they received a free holiday from a lucky draw they didn't remember participating.

A few days later, Sameen left for college too. She was welcomed by a bubbly R.A. who told her that her roommate had already arrived.

"She was actually a week early but apparently she got a special permission from the housing office," the R.A. said. "Wait, you're from Texas, right?"

Sameen nodded.

"Your roommate's from Texas too," the R.A. told Sameen excitedly. "She's from a town called," she paused briefly, "I swear I have the name at the tip of my tongue. I think it's the name of a chess piece. Pawn? No, that's not right."

"Bishop?" Sameen asked.

"Yes, Bishop," the R.A. replied. "Are you from there too?"

"My room is 122, right?" she asked.

"Yep, straight down and turn left."

By the time the R.A. reached the end of her sentence, Sameen was already rounding the corner. She stopped at the room numbered 122, heaving, more so from the anticipation than her recent sprint, and dropped the box that she was carrying on to the floor.

She could open this door and find Courtney Smith for all she knew, but Mr and Mrs Groves never mentioned where Sam's college was and Sameen never asked. The way Sam had disappeared, it made her feel like she was used, then discarded like all those years ago. Her hand hovered over the doorknob, not quite touching it.

Well, she would have to open the door first to find whoever's behind it.

But then the door opened for her, and a familiar smile greeted her.

"You must be my roommate."

"I guess I am," Sameen replied.

"How was your summer?" Sam asked, almost bouncing on her feet.

"It was good."

"Me too!" Sam beamed, and pulled Sameen into the room with her. "But a couple of days ago, a senior was killed by a hit and run."

"Please tell me you didn't have anything to do with it," Sameen said, squinting her eyes at Sam.

"Of course I didn't," Sam said, her nose crinkling in disgust. "Hit and run is so crass."

"Yeah, kinda like leaving a dead body on his own patio."

Sam just shrugged before continuing, "The thing is I saw the whole thing."

"So go to the po--" Sameen said before realizing what it was that Sam was trying to tell her. "Oh, you want to…"

"Just, hear me out," Sam said. "I checked on this guy. It's not the first time he's done this. And every time it happens, his dad throws money at the problem, but this time a person died. I hacked into his dad's accounts and he's moving huge chunks of money around. This guy is going to get away with it."

Sameen sighed. Sam was looking at her with those wide puppy eyes.

"Fine," she finally said, "but let's not wait six years to give this guy what he deserves."


End file.
